Pickled Herring

Saturday evening Golden Hour tonight. Dale made steak and brussels sprouts. For an appetizer he picked up some pickled herring. I grew up with pickled herring. We mostly had it around the holidays and I absolutely loved it. So did my Dad.

The following is from The Deluxe Food Lover's Companion:

herring: This huge family of saltwater fish has over a hundred varieties. The popular herring swims in gigantic schools and can be found in the cold waters of the North Atlantic and Pacific oceans. In the United States, two of the most popular members of this family are the American shad, and the alewife, both of which are anadromous, meaning that they migrate from their saltwater habitat to spawn in fresh water. Herring are generally small (ranging between 1/4 and 1 pound) and silvery. The major exception to that rule is the American shad, which averages 3 to 6 pounds and is prized for its eggs - the delicacy known as shad roe. Young herring are frequently labeled and sold as sardines.... Pickled herring have been marinated in vinegar and spices before being bottle in either a sour-cream sauce or a wine sauce. The term can also refer to herring that have been dry-salted before being cured in brine.

Silver Hour - Wednesday January 26, 2011

The Silver Hour is a dressed down version of the Golden Hour. Usually held mid-week. Tonight the menu was tuna steaks, steamed green beans, rice pilaf, and salad.

Dinner and a Movie - 1

Last night Dale and I went to visit our friends Julie and Regina for dinner and a movie. Julie made some very scrumptious burritos. Dale and I brought the leftover tres leche cake from the other night. It was all very delicious. The movie was High Anxiety with Mel Brooks, Madeline Kahn, Cloris Leachman, and Harvey Korman. It was all very funny.

Good food, good fun, good movie, good friends.

Oh, yeah, and the werewolf scene gets me every time.

Dinner Party - Saturday January 22, 2011

Last night Dale and I hosted a dinner for some friends Dale knows from a spin class he takes on Saturdays at the gym. Michelle, Dale's spin instructor, and her husband Steve along with his classmate Fred and Fred's wife Linda all came over at about 6:00 pm. This dinner was rescheduled from a December date during which the city experienced 18 inches of snow and caused us to cancel. Appetizers and drinks came first. Dinner included lasagna (made by me using Mom's recipe), steamed green beans with olive oil and salt, and garlic bread (both made by Dale). Dessert was a tres leche cake from Cafe Latte in St. Paul which was brought over by Fred and Linda. It was all amazing and tasted fantastic.

W.S. Gilbert said "When planning a dinner party, what's more important than what's on the table is what's on the chairs." This get-together was a nice combination of wonderfully warm people. Dinner was lovely and the conversations were engaging. We talked of Christmas, our families, religion, and politics. I know the latter two are usually to be avoided but everyone was pretty much on the same page and respectful of everyone's opinions. Everyone was surprised when we discovered it was already midnight. This is again proof to me that some of the best times in life revolve around shared good food and good people.

Christmas Traditions: The Christmas Pickle

It's a sham! Well, at least I think it is...

About a year ago I was shopping with a friend and I came across a glass pickle ornament. I mentioned that I thought it was a funny object for a Christmas tree ornament. She informed me that it was some German tradition and that because I have partial German heritage I should know all about it.

Well.

According to "tradition" the pickle is supposed to be the last ornament hung on the tree on Christmas Eve. The first child to find the pickle on Christmas morning gets an extra gift from Saint Nicholas. This doesn't hold up as the German St. Nick doesn't arrive on Christmas Eve but on the 5th or 6th of December. Also, German children don't open their presents the morning of Christmas but on Christmas Eve.

One story says that a Bavarian-born man who fought in the American Civil War was captured and began to die while being held prisoner. He begged a guard for a pickle before he died. The guard granted his wish and the pickle gave the man his strength and health back.

In another story, originating in Berrien Springs, Michigan, two medieval-era Spanish boys are traveling home from school for the Christmas holidays. They stop at an inn for the night but the innkeeper is a rotten fellow who stuffs the boys in a barrel of pickles. Saint Nicholas soon stops by and taps the pickle barrel with his staff and the boys are freed. Berrien Springs is the self-proclaimed Christmas Pickle Capital of the World. A parade which is part of its December Christmas Pickle Festival is led by a Grand Dillmeister who gives out real pickles along the parade route. You my then purchase German glass pickle ornaments at the town's museum.

Oddly, few in Germany ever have heard of the Christmas Pickle.

Scam or not, it looks like the 'legend' of the Christmas pickle is here to stay. I bought the one pictured above just for fun this past season. I even found smaller pickle ornaments packaged in a pickle jar at the Sur la Table kitchen store.

From The Deluxe Food Lover's Companion:

"pickle n. Food that has been preserved in a seasoned brine or vinegar mixture. Among the more popular foods used for pickling are cucumbers, pearl onions, cauliflower, baby corn, watermelon rind, pig's feet and herring. Pickles can be sour, sweet, hot or variously flavored, such as with DILL for the popular dill pickle. pickle v. Top preserve food in a vinegar mixture or brine."

New Year's Day 2011

Woke up late this morning thinking about what a glorious time I had during the progressive dinner we participated in last night. What a great way to end 2010. Dale and I have spent the day lounging around reading and napping.

Over the past holiday season I've had a chance to share meals with a lot of people who are important to me. I am spending time thinking about how the meals we share enhance our lives and our relationships with one another.

One of my favorite books is Life Is Meals by James and Kay Salter. Here is the January 1st entry from the book:

"The meal is the essential act of life. It is the habitual ceremony, the long record of marriage, the school for behavior, the prelude to love. Among all peoples and in all times, every significant event in life - be it wedding, triumph, or birth - is marked by a meal or the sharing of food or drink. The meal is the emblem of civilization. What would one know of life as it should be lived or nights as they should be spent apart from meals?"

Dale and I ate canned chicken noodle soup from a can along with leftover brioche and tapanade. We then watched Christmas in Connecticut and then Shop Around the Corner. Steve stopped by to pick up the lens cover from Mary's camera that she forgot last night. He told us that they woke up this morning talking about what a wonderful time they had last night. We told him that we had done the same thing!

New Year's Eve 2010

This year we were invited to a progressive dinner for New Year's Eve by our neighbor from across the alley, Mary. Dale and I took the appetizer course and served crackers and brioche with the options of brie with fig jam, basil pesto, or a sun-dried tomato tapanade as spreads. We also served red grapes, honey crisp apple slices, wasabe peas, and cashews. For drinks we offered a 2009 Beaujolais nouveau, champagne, beer, and mixed drinks. I was surprised how many people wanted martinis. Our neighbor Gary wanted his usual vodka martini. I used Shaker's vodka which is made here in Minnesota. Gary likes his with a healthy portion of vermouth. Mary also wanted a vodka martini but with no vermouth. I just passed the bottle of vermouth over the drink a couple times. She said she didn't even need that much! Our neighbor Kevin decided he'd like to try a gin martini. I used Tanquerey and I think he was surprised by how strong it was. He said he liked gin but, sensing his inexperience in regard to martinis, I made him a smaller one than I usually do. He wasn't able to finish it and took it to the next course which was salads at his and Jenny's house. I thought this was funny and have to say I really admire his commitment to finishing it. I put a glass pickle ornament on the tree just for Gary to find. He found it almost immediately and got a special present for his effort which was a small Christmas troll pin. The troll was dressed up like Santa Claus.

Like I said, the next course was salads at Kevin and Jenny's home. The salad was delicious and I think Jenny said it was from the Nordstrom department store menu. I'll have to ask her for the recipe or google it.

Next we went to Warren and Gary's for the main course. Warren made an Indian dish called tiki masala, I think. It was also fantastic and I need to get the recipe. I think he said it was from Cooks Illustrated magazine. They have a fireplace and Gary had a lovely fire going when we got there. Their cat Big Boy laid himself out in front of the fire and seemed to have a fine time lounging there as we ate dinner.

The final course was dessert at Steve and Mary's house. Mary made a delicious goat cheese cheese cake with a pineapple compote and also pot de creme. Merriment ensued with dancing (I particularly remember moving to Hot Sauce by Thomas Dolby) and watching the countdown on ABC with Dick Clark who I think was looking particularly good for his age. Jenny brought out her medicine cards and everyone got a reading for the new year. We stayed until one a.m. It has been quite a while since Dale and I have stayed up until (or past) midnight on New Year's Eve.

What a delightful evening.